


Novelty Cups

by CloversDreams



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: First Kiss, Lunch date, M/M, Modern AU, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Yo is all kinds of ridiculous, a true disaster of a human being, and for some reason Hyoga is into that, aquarium date, from me to me, no petrification, theyre awkward and I like them so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:29:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25862110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloversDreams/pseuds/CloversDreams
Summary: Yo trotted over to the white-haired man and smacked him on the back playfully. When Hyoga turned his way, Yo smiled from ear to ear and chirped, “Hey, you’re early!”“Actually, you’re just late,” Hyoga sighed with a shake of his head. He stuffed his hands into his jacket pocket then added, “Ready? I’m tired of looking at these ugly blobs.”“They’re not ugly! They’re–” Yo took a moment to watch the jellyfish swim by. “Yeah, I guess they’re kinda ugly, but you don’t have to say it out loud.”Hyoga snorted then started to walk away. He paused when they were shoulder to shoulder and turned towards the redhead as he replied, “You just said it too.”Yo gasped and slapped his hands over his mouth. Hyoga continued to walk off without looking back. Yo waved at the jellyfish, whispered an apology, then scurried off to follow Hyoga into the next room. On the way he noticed a display stand with flyers. He grabbed one and opened it to find that it had a list of events as well as a map of the building. Useful stuff. He was pretty excited to revisit all the old attractions and see what was new.
Relationships: Hyouga/Uei You
Comments: 8
Kudos: 15





	Novelty Cups

“Aquarium, aquarium~” Yo hummed to himself as he stepped into the building. He hadn’t been to this place since he was a kid and he had no idea why. The opportunity never presented itself when he’d grown up, he guessed. That’s why it was really shocking to get the invite. He’d agreed without giving it a single thought. Granted, that was how he made most of his life’s decisions, but as he was getting ready earlier he’d realized that he probably should’ve pondered this one a bit.

Yo’s mind went blank for a second when he finally noticed the man that would be his companion for the afternoon. There by a tank of jellyfish stood the infamous Hyoga. Well-known in martial-arts circles for his skills with a spear, as well as his generally bad attitude. They’d met when Yo was working as extra security for one of the bigger tournaments a little over half a year ago.

It wasn’t really like either of them was looking for someone to talk to at the time. They kind of just ended up off to the side and against the same wall. Hyoga made some comment about these events being a bore and Yo agreed. It had taken him an extra second to realize he was actually talking to the guy who’d just won the most recent match. Man, he looked different without that half-face mask on.

Yo had the same thought even now. Hyoga was practically unrecognizable without the mask and skimpy outfit he competed in. That was probably why Hyoga chose to forgo those things today and opted for a casual look instead. Dark jeans, a tee, and a jacket. Simple, functional. He could fly under the radar much easier this way. They met a few more times at different events after that first one, eventually he looked for the guy when he had to work that kind of job. Yo couldn’t exactly say when the two of them had become friends, but he didn’t regret a single moment. Rough around the edges though he might be, Yo liked Hyoga. He liked him a lot, in fact. More than he’d ever know. Yo’s lips were sealed.

Either way, it certainly had been a surprise when Hyoga asked if he’d be interested in joining him on this little outing of his. Yo didn’t exactly have the largest friend circle, thus he didn’t get to go places with others very often, so he’d jumped at the chance. Well, that and he really wanted to see the penguins. They were always so cute in their fancy little tuxes. He could hardly stand it.

He trotted over to the white-haired man and smacked him on the back playfully. When Hyoga turned his way, Yo smiled from ear to ear and chirped, “Hey, you’re early!”

“Actually, you’re just late,” Hyoga sighed with a shake of his head. He stuffed his hands into his jacket pocket then added, “Ready? I’m tired of looking at these ugly blobs.”

“They’re not ugly! They’re–” Yo took a moment to watch the jellyfish swim by. “Yeah, I guess they’re kinda ugly, but you don’t have to say it out loud.”

Hyoga snorted then started to walk away. He paused when they were shoulder to shoulder and turned towards the redhead as he replied, “You just said it too.”

Yo gasped and slapped his hands over his mouth. Hyoga continued to walk off without looking back. Yo waved at the jellyfish, whispered an apology, then scurried off to follow Hyoga into the next room. On the way he noticed a display stand with flyers. He grabbed one and opened it to find that it had a list of events as well as a map of the building. Useful stuff. He was pretty excited to revisit all the old attractions and see what was new.

The first room was exactly as Yo remembered. He looked around in awe at all of the tanks built into the walls with fake coral covering them to simulate a reef. It was still so darn cool. He couldn’t understand why he’d stayed away for so long. A specific tank caught his attention and he gasped then ran over to it. He was wide eyed as he watched an octopus swim about casually.

Yo waved and it hid behind a rock, which made him laugh. He moved over to the next tank and watched a gorgeous school of iridescent fish swim by. So cool. After they were gone another fish swam into view. This one was blue. Not just any shade, no, but the same intense color as Hyoga’s eyes. A blue so deep that it looked purple depending on the lighting. Such a fantastic color deserved its own name. Burple. Yeah, that’s exactly the color it was. Wow, the way its scales shined sure was pretty. He leaned in just a bit closer to get a better look.

“You’re fogging up the glass,” Hyoga muttered behind him.

“Oops!” Yo took a step away then rubbed the back of his head. He smiled awkwardly and said, “They’re just so pretty, I couldn’t help but want to get a closer look!”

“Starfish.”

“Wha…?”

“Behind you.” Hyoga motioned in that direction.

“Ohh!” Yo whirled around to see another tank nearby that had a half a dozen starfish stuck to the glass. He smiled from ear to ear as he hurried over to it so he could get a better look. They sure were funny. Yo waved a single finger at one and it wiggled an arm in response, which made him snicker. He glanced over at Hyoga briefly to find that the guy was standing pretty close to him. Much closer than strictly necessary. Although, he probably just wanted to get a better look into the tank as well. Yo couldn’t blame him for that. He didn’t think too much on it.

They continued on, stopping to look into each tank they passed. Yo was intrigued by the tank that had water snakes within it. He didn’t even remember those were a thing. He found them kind of scary, yet super cool. A lot like Hyoga, actually. Yo was absolutely tickled pink when one of the snakes seemed to take an interest in his companion.

The snake moved everywhere that Hyoga motioned with his pointer finger. It followed him as he walked alongside the tank. When he stopped then turned towards it the snake stuck its tongue out to try and sniff him. Hyoga huffed softly to himself. Yo could see the tiniest upward curve of his lips. He was glad to see that the usually grumpy guy was pretty amused by the snake as well.

Yo couldn’t help but stare while Hyoga was distracted. That tiny smile on his face really accentuated his naturally soft features. There was no beating around the bush, the guy was pretty. Yo realized it when they met but never really allowed himself to think about it much. He’d certainly never allowed himself to stare for this long before. He found himself glad that it was just the two of them on this little venture of theirs. To have Hyoga all to himself even for a little while was more than he could ever ask for. Yo felt heat rise to his cheeks as his pulse quickened without his permission. Hyoga glanced at him and Yo jumped then marched towards the next tank to see what wonders it held.

They wandered into the connecting room and Yo read what was probably an obnoxious amount of the facts posted on the walls out loud. Hyoga didn’t do much but grunt in response. That was all right. Yo knew he wasn’t one to mince words and would absolutely tell him to shut up if he was being too annoying. There seemed to be quite a few people gathering in the next room. Yo was excited to see what all the fuss was about. He opened the map he’d grabbed, glanced at it, then gasped. Of course!

Yo hurried into that crowded room and weaved through the people. He smiled from ear to ear when he finally reached the tank and saw the penguins. They were so cute! Waddling around! Swimming around! Flapping their little flippers! He could seriously die on the spot; they were absolutely adorable.

“Why is this room so crowded?”

Yo jumped at the sound of Hyoga’s voice right next to his ear. He wasn’t proud of the little squeak that escaped him but there was nothing he could do about it now. Yo took a single step to the side so the other man didn’t have to look over his shoulder to see. He motioned towards the tank and explained, “They’re going to feed the penguins pretty soon so people are gathering to watch. It’s one of the most popular attractions here aside from the shark tank.”

“I see.” Hyoga tilted his head as he watched one of the penguins slip for no discernible reason.

Soft giggles got Yo’s attention and he leaned over just a bit to look past Hyoga. There was a group of women trying to be discreet but failing as they admired the taller man. Yo couldn’t really blame them for that. Hyoga was so good looking he was bound to turn heads wherever he went. Though he didn’t seem to notice his admirers.

Yo bumped Hyoga’s shoulder with his own to get his attention. He offered the taller man a teasing grin as he asked, “You sure are popular, huh?”

“Excuse me?” Hyoga simply blinked at him.

“You’ve got some admirers over there,” Yo explained with a casual gesture of his head. He nodded then added, “Pretty cute ladies, too. Maybe you should go talk to them.”

Hyoga’s brow knitted together and he frowned. He didn’t even bother to look where Yo gestured. In lieu of a verbal response, he grabbed Yo’s wrist and dragged him from the room. They weaved through the people until they made it to the next one. This one was empty since everyone was in the latter.

“Ouch, you nearly pulled my arm out of the socket! What’s the rush!” Yo whined loudly. He pulled his arm free then rubbed his shoulder with a pout. Talk about an overreaction. He turned towards Hyoga to complain but stopped when he saw the look on his face. It was grumpy but not the usual grumpy. Next level grumpy.

Actually, now that he really looked, he saw a faint blush in Hyoga’s cheeks. Maybe that attention earlier left him flustered. Perhaps he just couldn’t deal with that kind of thing. Yo didn’t get the chance to ask before something caught his eye and he gasped. He couldn’t do anything about the squeak in his voice as he exclaimed, “Oh! The touch tank!”

Yo ran over to the side of it and laughed. He stood on the little ledge to allow himself more reach as he stuck his hand into the water. This was always the best part of visiting the aquarium for sure. All the weird creatures and their various, interesting textures were so cool. There was a strange looking creature crawling just out of reach and Yo _needed_ to touch it. He braced himself with his left arm then stretched the right all the way out.

It’d be hard to describe the sound he made when his left hand slipped from its perch and gravity won their little battle. Whatever one wanted to refer to it as, a yelp or squeal perhaps, it was quickly muffled when he got a mouthful of water. Then it was just a bubbling mess. Yo could barely hear the panicked shouts of what he could only assume were probably employees ready to scold him. Oops.

Yo was glad that he kept his credentials on him at all times. All he had to do was show the aquarium employees that and make a stern face as he talked about the lack of supervisors in the room with the touch tank. Had it been anyone else there would’ve been a big mess. He explained that he was willing to let it slide with just a verbal warning. Everyone was very cooperative after that and quick to leave the two of them alone to dry off in an empty office. He snickered to himself as he used a towel they’d given him to dry his hair.

“I can’t believe you fell into an attraction designed for children then I had to drag you out of it and also got soaked,” Hyoga groaned. Luckily he'd quickly removed his jacket before he grabbed Yo so it was still dry. He finished wiping his arms then crumbled the baby-blue towel he’d been given and shook his head.

“I had fun though, so it was worth it,” Yo chuckled. He looked over at Hyoga and added, “Got us free matching t-shirts, too! I’d call that a bonus!”

“It’s neither my color nor my size…” Hyoga grumbled.

Yo watched him for a moment. Sure, pink wasn’t what one would expect Hyoga to wear, but he pulled it off. He probably looked good in anything. Especially if it was hugging his pecs like this currently too-small shirt was. It was all the aquarium staff had available and he was a bit grateful. He stared at that little bit of his bare torso that would show as Hyoga moved and the shirt rode up slightly. Tantalizing.

Yo cleared his throat and looked away. He continued to dry his hair without a word. Yeah, Hyoga wore less when he competed, but that was different. They were alone in this office and Yo had nowhere to hide if he got caught staring. That certainly didn’t mean he didn’t _want_ to stare.

Hyoga pulled his jacket back on and mumbled, “Some date this turned out to be.”

Yo stiffened then turned towards him slowly. What? There was no way he'd heard that right. There was probably water in his ears or something. His voice was a shaky whisper as he asked, “Did you, uh… just say this was a date?”

“Of course it’s a date,” Hyoga snorted, “Why do you think I asked if you’d like to join me?”

“But you never said the word _date_!” Yo cried.

“Did I have to?” Hyoga asked.

“Yes!” Yo shrieked.

“Why?” Hyoga sighed.

“So we were both on the same page!” Yo motioned wildly with both arms. He shook his head and his still damp hair slapped him in the face. Not that he cared at a time like this. “I would’ve brought flowers or something! I dunno!”

“I can’t begin to explain just how much I don’t want flowers,” Hyoga grunted.

“Well now I _know_ that! Thank you for telling me!” Yo yelled. It was louder than he meant but there was nothing he could do about it.

“All right.” There wasn’t much else to say in response and Yo clearly needed a moment so Hyoga leaned against the wall behind himself and crossed his arms.

Yo’s brain did its best to process this. That was near impossible, of course, but it tried. In the end all he could do was let his shoulders droop and sigh, “So is the date over? How’d I do?”

Hyoga tossed his towel at him, hitting the unprepared Yo right in the face, then asked, “How do you think?”

Yo removed the blue towel from his head. He thought about their afternoon and everything that lead them to this moment. His gaze was fixed upon the ground as he asked, “That bad, huh?”

Hyoga didn’t respond. The redhead wasn’t the only one thinking about how their day had gone. He frowned to himself and leaned his head back against the wall then shut his eyes.

“Sorry,” Yo started, his voice just a tad louder than a whisper. “You make me really nervous ‘cause you’re way out of my league and frankly you even wanting to be my friend is a hard concept to wrap my head around.” Yo shut his eyes and forced a laugh then smiled. “I guess that’s why I didn’t even consider this might be a date. It's not because I’m not interested in you or anything.”

Hyoga glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and mumbled, “You should have more confidence in yourself, you know.” 

“Easy for you to say, pretty boy.” Yo snickered and held up his hands in surrender when Hyoga growled at him. He placed the towels he held onto the nearby table then smiled shyly. His cheeks darkened and he asked, “You really wanted to go on a date with me?”

“I thought that much was obvious when I asked you on one,” Hyoga sighed. He rubbed the back of his neck and added, “but in the end it’s just a disaster.”

“It’s not over yet,” Yo assured him. Realization struck him and he marched right over to Hyoga then said, “This place has an awesome café. We can get lunch there.”

Hyoga had to lean away from him just to get some personal space back as he muttered, “I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

“Great! This way!” Yo spun around and began to march from the room.

“Do we have to go while wearing these shirts?” Hyoga groaned. He pulled his jacket closed but it just fell back open again. “Can't we wait until ours dry?”

“Nonsense, you look great. Stunning, really. Pink is absolutely your color.” Yo stopped in the doorway then smiled from ear to ear when Hyoga tried to burn a hole right through him with his glare. He noticed that the guy hadn’t moved a muscle so he tilted his head and offered a crooked smile then hummed, “I'm hungry?”

“Fine,” Hyoga sighed. “Lead the way.”

Yo was happy enough to do just that. He didn’t exactly remember how to get there but luckily there was a display with maps right outside of the office they’d been in. Perfect since he’d ruined the other one earlier. A quick glance at that and Yo knew where they were headed. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Hyoga was still in tow then made his way towards the café.

The aquatic theme was even more amazing than Yo remembered. The huge tanks of tropical fish were so eye-catching that he had to be reminded multiple times that they were there to eat, not stare. Yo was all smiles as he chatted about nothing in particular while they awaited their food. He thanked the waitress twice once it finally arrived. Yeah, he was excited, but who could blame him? He was on a date with his crush at such an amazing place. It was unreal. He took the first bite of his meal and hummed contently. It was delicious.

Yo looked over at Hyoga and saw that he was blinking at the plate in front of him. He finished chewing then swallowed the bite of food in his mouth before he finally asked, “How’s yours?”

“It’s smiling at me,” Hyoga replied flatly. “There is an actual happy face on my plate.”

“Cute, right?” Yo chuckled. The cheery atmosphere and theme of the café was definitely adorable. The fact that the food was really good was a bonus. He pushed his plate to the middle of the table and motioned towards it. He smiled as he exclaimed, “Here, you gotta try this!”

Hyoga eyed the food suspiciously and asked, “What is it?”

“Delicious!” Yo chirped. He picked up a small amount and leaned across the table to offer it to his frowning date. His grin widened when Hyoga leaned closer and accepted the food. The soft grunt he received was as close to an agreement as he’d get and it was good enough for Yo. He pulled the plate back towards himself and started to talk about the attractions that were in the last few rooms they hadn’t visited yet.

After their meal they visited another room full of interesting tanks. Then there was an announcement made reminding everyone that it was about time for the penguins to be fed. The rest of the stragglers wandered out of the room after that. Hyoga raised a curious eyebrow at him as he asked, “Don’t you want to go watch too?”

Yo motioned in the opposite direction and replied, “Nah, I bet we can have the shark room pretty much to ourselves right now since everyone’s distracted. You’d like that, right?”

Hyoga cleared his throat and looked away from him. “This isn’t about me.”

“Don’t be silly,” Yo continued to smile as he added, “it’s about the both of us.”

Hyoga muttered something about how he guessed he’d prefer to see the shark tank and Yo perked right up. He lead the way with his chest puffed out. As expected, the normally crowded room was emptied out since everyone had wandered to watch the penguins instead. This allowed the two of them to walk right up to the tank without any issue. Yo’s jaw dropped as he looked into the enormous tank in awe. Different sharks swam by and he gasped then turned his head to follow them.

He tilted his head back so he could look all the way up at the top of the tank. That was when he noticed the reflection of the water on the ceiling. Yo looked around them and found that the way the water moved caused light to reflect everywhere in the room. It looked like it was dancing. It was so pretty. He righted his head and watched a turtle swim by as he hummed, “It’s kind of romantic, isn’t it? The atmosphere created by the water playing with the light, the soothing sounds, the fact that we’re the only ones in this big, dark room.”

He paused when he realized he’d just said that out loud. Whoops. Yo turned towards Hyoga, shut his eyes, chuckled nervously, then said, “Not that it needs to be or anyth–!”

Yo inhaled sharply through his nose and his eyes snapped open when he felt something warm against his lips. He blinked rapidly while his brain attempted to comprehend what was happening. Hyoga was _kissing_ him in probably what was the most romantic situation Yo had ever been in. Lips against his. Nothing held back. He wasn’t hallucinating. Yo’s pulse began to race and he squeezed his eyes shut then leaned into it.

Hyoga broke the kiss then turned back towards the tank. He pointed to a shark as it swam by and muttered, “Tiger shark.”

Yo’s whole face burned with a mix of surprise and embarrassment. He could only imagine how pink it probably was. He looked back at the tank and at the shark in question as it swam by. Yo let out an amused huff and nodded as he said, “Yeah, I guess it is.”

There was silence after that. The only sounds in the room were the ones coming from the tank. It was actually soothing to listen to. Maybe it was the noise, maybe it was the fact that he knew Hyoga liked him, but Yo found that he wasn’t nearly as anxious as he might’ve been about what he wanted to do next. In fact, he had a surprising amount of courage to give it a try.

“Hyoga?” Yo asked so softly he wasn’t sure the other man would even hear it.

“Hm?”

The backs of Yo’s fingers just barely brushed up against the hand next to his as he asked, “Is this date still a disaster?”

Hyoga continued to stare straight ahead as he took Yo’s hand and replied, “Yes, but in a good way.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Yo said as he threaded their fingers together.

“That’s all right.”

“Mm.” Yo hummed in agreement. Of course it was all right if they could hold hands in public like this. He couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear.

“Yo?” Hyoga asked a few moments later.

“Yeah?”

“We should get a drink after this,” Hyoga casually suggested. He rubbed the back of the redhead’s hand with his thumb as he added, “Somewhere without novelty cups.”

Yo nodded as he replied, “I’d like that.”

About thirty seconds of silence went by before Hyoga looked at him out of the corner of his eye and said, “But you also want a novelty cup now that I mentioned it.”

“Well…” Yo snickered to himself. Man, he was an open book. He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand and explained, “Those cups are really cool keepsakes and I’d love to have one to remember this day by.”

Hyoga looked back towards the tank. There was just the tiniest hint of a smile upon his face as he squeezed Yo’s hand gently and replied, “We’ll get you one on the way out.”

**Author's Note:**

> tfw you ask out the guy you like and hes too dense to realize that it’s a date fghhgf rip hyoga
> 
> Shoutout to Trev for “burple”. Thanks, I really hate it!
> 
> Yo got them a SET of novelty cups and Hyoga now has the ugliest reminder of their first date… but that’s ok it makes him smile when he looks at it
> 
> I like these two very much and I hope someone else out there might be intrigued by them as well as I shout into the void :’3


End file.
